My Wren Kitchen – The Issues

If you’re here because you’re thinking of buying a kitchen from Wren then may I suggest that you first try out their customer support and see if you like it. Dial 0345 127 7008 the choose option 2 then option 3 then option 1. You may want a speaker phone or hands free set whilst you wait to get through. In my experience a typical wait is around 20 minutes.

Issue 1 – late delivery

My kitchen came a week late after our designer made an unauthorised change to the delivery date.

When I placed my order I was unclear about when my builders would be ready to install, so I took a guess and went for the week of 27 Jul. As things progressed the builders asked for it a week earlier, and I called Wren on 23 Jun to see if I could get it moved forward. Sadly they were already booked solid for the week of 20 Jul, so I had to stick with the original date, but I was assured that I should be able to get the kitchen early that week. When I paid my balance on 29 Jun delivery was still on track for w/c 27 Jul.

It was a nasty shock when I got a call from Gemma on 28 Jul saying that delivery was scheduled for the following week, but in the end that’s when the kitchen actually arrived. Apparently my designer Rebecca had pushed the date back (initially to w/c 17 Aug, but then to w/c 3 Aug). Rebecca later said that she’d got a message from my builders asking for the change, but that wasn’t true.

Issue 2 – missing appliances

When my kitchen finally did arrive (a week late) it came without the hob or extractor that I’d ordered.

I got a call the evening before delivery saying that the hob and extractor weren’t available, and that we’d get substitute appliances instead. This caused some consternation, as the granite would need to be cut to fit the hob, but what if it might never come. I was eventually told that the hob would definitely be delivered, but it would take up to 5 weeks, and the extractor would be up to 3 weeks.

Issue 3 – long lead time for replacement unit

New units need to be made from scratch and delivered in Wren’s vans.

The design had failed to take into account the thickness of a wall, meaning that we needed a 600mm unit where a 300mm unit had been specified. The new unit was ordered (and paid for) on 4 Aug and delivered on 20 Aug. The unit we didn’t want was collected on 22 Sep, and refunded on 28 Sep.

Issue 4 – deformed butler sink

Even items Wren doesn’t make itself need to be delivered in their vans.

The granite fitter unpacked the butler sink we’d ordered so that he could put it in place for accurate measurements. He noticed straight away that it didn’t look right:

The issue was noticed on 5 Aug, but the replacement didn’t come until 20 Aug. Wren didn’t collect the deformed sink (which they insisted on taking back) until 22 Sep.

Issue 5 – damaged wall unit

Another item that needed to be manufactured and delivered according to Wren’s schedule.

One of the wall units was damaged during shipping, puncturing the box and the back of the unit.

The issue was reported on 6 Aug, and the replacement came on 20 Aug. Wren didn’t initially make it clear that there was no need to return the broken unit, and that I could just get rid of it.

Issue 6 – wrong sized worktop

Wren specified two 2400x900mm pieces of wooden worktop for the island 2605x945mm, but they were both too short and too narrow to be fitted in any way that didn’t involve multiple joins..

It was six weeks before the incorrect worktops were taken away, and a further week before I was refunded.

Issue 7 – granite not fitted on time

Wren subcontracted the granite fitting to Original Marble and Granite (OMG). I was told that the granite would come on 14 Aug, which fitted into the lead time of 5-8 working days after measuring. It was fitted on 18 Aug.

Issue 8 – microwave damaged during delivery

Appliances that were available may suddenly become hard to get.

The microwave was one of the last things to be installed, so this problem wasn’t spotted until 21 Aug. It then took over 9 weeks to get the replacement.